Moderates will determine fate of public option in health bills

Oct 26 2009

It's Sunday, and not surprisingly, the talk is about the public option - especially on what provisions some senators may be willing to accept in a final health bill.

Politico kept a running list of the chatter:

"Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill, a key Democratic moderate, acknowledged on Sunday there was concern about losing the support of moderate Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine" (Isenstadt, 10/25).

"Appearing on CNN's State of the Union with John King, Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch said that he believes Democrats will implement a public option of some kind if they get enough votes to break cloture in an upcoming Senate floor vote. ... Hatch is adamantly opposed to the idea, arguing that Medicare and Medicaid are badly run" (Javers, 10/25).

"Appearing on CNN's State of the Union with John King, Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) said he wouldn't rule out voting for a health care bill that didn't have a public option. 'I don't draw lines in the sand,' Brown said" (Javers).

The Associated Press: Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York says he thinks a public option plan will be in the Senate bill. Schumer says he thinks it will be a middle-ground proposal that allows states to opt out of participation. ... Schumer spoke Sunday on NBC's 'Meet the Press'" (10/25).

The Buffalo News:  "The 'public option' appeared to be the rotting corpse of health care reform only two months ago, but it now looks as if Sen. Charles E. Schumer has helped to bring the proposal back to life. Working behind the scenes over the past four weeks, the New York senator has rekindled interest among some of his moderate Democratic colleagues in establishing a government-run health care plan to compete with private insurers. Now Democratic congressional aides say Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is likely to include a public option in the compromise reform bill that's expected to hit the Senate floor in November. And it's likely to be built around Schumer's proposal that states be allowed to opt out of the public option" (Zremski, 10/25).

In a separate story, The Associated Press reports that Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., "says he is not excited about a public insurance plan in which states would be able to 'opt out.' Instead, the Nebraska senator says he is more interested in a program in which states 'opt in.' ... Nelson appeared Sunday on CNN's 'State of the Union.'" (10/25).

The Washington Post caught the weekend sensation: "in a video clip starting to circulate online, we have "Public Option Annie" -- the singing protest at the America's Health Insurance Plans state issues conference in Washington on Friday morning" (Franke-Ruta, 10/24).

McClatchy Newspapers: "A handful of moderate Senate Democrats will determine the fate of this year's health care overhaul, and they're sending strong signals that while they're willing to compromise, they're wary of a strong public option. ... The informal centrist roster includes senators who have broken with the party the most this year -- Indiana's Evan Bayh and Nebraska's Ben Nelson -- as well as Tom Carper of Delaware, Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut (an independent who caucuses with the Democrats), Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Mark Warner and Jim Webb of Virginia, Jon Tester of Montana and Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan of North Dakota."

"Their chief messages: Constituents are confused and wary of changes to the nation's health care system, and if a plan is perceived as too expensive and complex, there could be political consequences. ... In states where voters are more conservative, health care change is emblematic of something bigger, something analysts say could hurt those states' Democrats in next year's mid-term congressional elections. Thirty-eight Senate seats are up next year; each party now holds 19 of those" (Lightman, 10/23).

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette profiles Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Penn: "Wednesday marks the six-month anniversary of Mr. Specter's party switch ...  his prized seniority on committees has been stripped, as has his status as a coveted swing vote. As leadership and the media lavish attention on moderate Republicans Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine, and centrist Democrats such as Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Mr. Specter speaks out in favor of the 'public option'" (Malloy, 10/25).